Two to Sing, One to Kill
by CWM
Summary: A night out at the theatre turns awry when Klaus reveals moneymaking intentions.


A short story.

Behind the dimmed stage of Tahawny Theatre, just on the outskirts of London, Violet turned to face Klaus.

"Why did you tell the manager we were going to do this in the first place?"

"Two million pounds, Violet," he responded. "We'd be able to solve all our problems."

_"They say money is the root of all evil,"_ Violet hissed, conjouring a small dagger out of her hair and tossing it into another hand. _"And they'd be right."_

Klaus backed off into a microphone, falling over and into a mass of wires with a scraped knee. Violet started to swing the small dagger.

Then, a technician's voice echoed from the darkness. "You're on."

The two were forced onto the stage by unseen hands, and the two started to sign into the microphone as the spotlight focused on them, revealing the two flustered orphans to five hundred and forty people.

_"I heard you on the wireless back in Fifty Two  
Lying awake intent at tuning in on you.  
If I was young it didn't stop you coming through.  
Oh-a oh..."_

Klaus' voice got louder and clearer as he delved into the next verse.

_"They took the credit for your second symphony.  
Rewritten by machine and new technology,  
and now I understand the problems you can see.  
Oh-a oh..."_

Violet joined in with a voice dripping with malice.

_"I met your children...Oh-a oh..."_

_"What did you tell them?"_

_"Video killed the radio star.  
Video killed the radio star."_

_"Pictures came and broke your heart.  
Oh-a-a-a oh..."_

_"And now we meet in an abandoned studio.  
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago.  
And you remember the jingles used to go.  
Oh-a ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."_

Violet's voice seemed to falter as she stretched out the "ohhhhhhhhh..."

Klaus continued without a hint of hesitation.

_"You were the first one.  
Oh-a oh..."_

Violet's voice raised under the strain of the sudden, glaring heat.

_"You were the last one..."_

Violet lifted a glass of water from the floor and to her mouth as Klaus continued.

_"Video killed the radio star.  
Video killed the radio star..."_

Violet spoke through fresh lips.

_"In my mind and in my car,   
we can't rewind we've gone too far..."_

_"Oh-a-aho oh,  
Oh-a-aho oh..."_

That last part was being gently murmured through the lips of somebody behind the curtain.

Klaus suddenly rushed to the front of the stage, complete with microphone, and finished the song - all of it - save one line.

_"Video killed the radio star.  
Video killed the radio star. In my mind and in my car,  
we can't rewind we've gone to far. Pictures came and broke your heart, put the blame on VTR. You are a radio star. You are a radio star. Video killed the radio star. Video killed the radio star. Video killed the radio star. Video killed the radio star. Video killed the radio star."_

_"You are a radio star..."_ hissed the voice behind the curtain with much malice.

As he ducked into the glitzy dressing room twenty minutes later, he was followed by a sweaty Violet with hair-ribbon undone and hair sheening with the gloss of sweat.

She pulled out the dagger, and plunged it into two things.

First, into the fat wallet Klaus was carrying, containing two million pounds' worth of cash notes. Green banknotes fluttered to the ground and tickled Klaus' nose. He staggered back, seconds before Violet knocked him over, causing him to double-up on the ground, wheezing.

Secondly, into Klaus' own heart. Blood spattered throughout the room with little noise.

The seriousness of what she had just done - killed her brother for...she wasn't quite sure... hit home seconds later, as the knife fell forward, onto the very veins of her arm.

Seconds later, a shadowy figure who you could clearly tell had only one eyebrow, even from the shadow, burst into the dressing room, banging the door into the mirror, shattering it and the surrounding lights too.

The figure fired two shots, figuring he'd killed Klaus and Violet with just those two shots.

In reality, they'd slammed into a wall with no noise whatsoever. Violet had already killed herself and Klaus.

Klaus was on the ground, groggy and eyes slowly closing. But there was still some life left in him, and in one rushing breath he stroked a finger down Violet's bleeding vein.

He didn't know what had happened. He didn't know what was going to happen in the future. He wasn't even sure if there was a future. His vision was swirling through his eyes and was slowly draining down a black hole that had appeared in his line of vision. He was about to fall asleep. He didn't want to, and it seemed such a silly time and place to do so - propped up against a dressing room floor. He had to stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake. He tried to chant it, but his ability to speak slowly faded away. He closed his eyes, faintly smiling. Tears slowly dribbled down his face as he touched the still Violet's hand and found it deathly cold.

"It's up to me to protect Sunny..." he murmured as his neck twisted to one side and he dropped from this world, not knowing so.

(The fact that the whole lyrics of Video Killed the Radio Star massively stretched the size of this fanfic is not intentional. Honest.)


End file.
